Archive for the ‘Uniquely South African’ Category

South Africa’s Rainbow Nation title refers to the incredible diversity of its people, from the original Bushmen inhabitants of the land to the people who migrated and settled here over the years. There is hardly a nation on Earth that is not in some way represented in this diverse country.

The term Rainbow Nation of South Africa found popular appeal from the moment Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu first used it to capture the multicultural nature of our country.

It is not just the people that are diverse in this amazing country. South African climate, soil and wine growing conditions are different from region to region as the wide range of bio-diversity affects wine production.

It has often been noted that the Cape winelands are probably the most scenic in the world. For this reason wine tourism is one of the country’s growing industries. Offering a range of topographical pleasures ranging from high, snowy mountains to arid plains, arrangements for tourists are becoming more and more sophisticated in the various regions

Iconic and award winning Kumkani wines exemplify the rich traditions and cultures of South Africa. The grapes are mainly produced in the Darling and Stellenbosch areas and cellar tastings can be done at our Welmoed cellar.

Source: southafrica.net

The company of wine people TM is pleased to announce a restructure of its Kumkani brand as a Black owned business with a strong commercial focus to grow sales in both the local and international markets.

Allison S Adams-Witbooi, a former winemaker at Stellenbosch Wine Services, has agreed to form a 50/50 partnership with the Company to grow the brand and take it in a new direction. Her co-ownership of the brand will make it a Black owned brand within the wine industry, allowing it access to the network of Black owned businesses with its resources to grow in international markets.

Adams-Witbooi (30) has demonstrated considerable leadership capabilities and an entrepreneurial spirit while employed at the company of wine peopleTM and its Board feels her demonstrated enthusiasm and personality are key in her steering Kumkani to new heights. In addition, her winemaking background is an important capability in dealing with wine buyers, consumers and the media.

“We believe the Kumkani brand, with its positioning of African sophistication, is the ideal vehicle for such a partnership,” says CEO of the company of wine peopleTM, Hermann Böhmer. “This new development also demonstrates our strong commitment to empowerment as well as the entrepreneurial development of the talent within our company.”

Adams-Witbooi has an extensive background in working in the wine industry. She completed harvest seasons at Rustenberg, Grootte Post and Hartenberg, and worked in cellars and tasting venues while still a student. After graduation, she also worked for The Winery of Good Hope, Meinert Wines and Wines of South Africa (Wosa). Stints overseas at wineries in Northern Italy and the South of France gave her some insight into the international wine scene. She was appointed at the company of wine peopleTM in 2009.

“This road has lead me to get to know the industry, its players and consumers of the product,” she says. “I’m looking forward to this new challenge. I see a lot of potential for growth and I want to ensure a consistency in Kumkani’s quality.”

One thing that will not change, is the brand’s South African identity. “Kumkani is uniquely South African and it is going to remain so, from the varietal choices to the packaging. My vision is that people will be proud to drink the wine and be associated with it.”

The venture will be called Kumkani Wines and it will be operated as a division of the company of wine peopleTM, who will serve as a mentor to Allison. She will, supported by the Company, be responsible for all sales and marketing and be the primary face of the brand to wine buyers, consumers, industry bodies and the media. Initially, her sales focus will be on the South African market. In turn, Wine People will take responsibility for all financial and administration functions. She will work closely with the winemaking team and be involved in approving the wine styles in the brand’s portfolio.

the company of wine people TM expresses its confidence in this new partnership to present Kumkani to both the local and overseas market as a modern, intriguing, top quality wine with pedigree and status. Click here for more information on Kumkani

Christmas in South Africa is a summer holiday. In December, the southern summer brings glorious days of sunshine that carry an irresistible invitation to the beaches, the rivers, and the shaded mountain slopes. Then the South African holiday season reaches its height. Schools are closed, and camping is the order of the day. In South Africa there is no snow, but it has many flowers, many beautiful varieties of cultivated and wild flowers being in their full pride.

In the cities and towns carolers make their rounds on Christmas Eve. Church services are held on Christmas morning. Christmas Eve celebrations in larger centers include “Carols by Candlelight” and special screen and floor shows.

Homes are decorated with pine branches, and all have the decorated Christmas fir in a corner, with presents for the children around. At bedtime on Christmas Eve, children may also hang up their stockings for presents from Father Christmas.

Many South Africans have a Christmas dinner in the open-air lunch. For many more, it is the traditional dinner of either leg of lamb, roast beef, mince pies, or suckling pig, yellow rice with raisins, vegetables, and plum pudding, crackers, paper hats, and all. In the afternoon, families go out into the country and usually there are games or bathing in the warm sunshine, and then home in the cool of the evening. Boxing Day is also a proclaimed public holiday usually spent in the open air. It falls on December 26 and is a day of real relaxation.

The Kumkani Merlot Pinotage will complement the traditional beef or lamb dishes and will complete the uniquely South African Christmas dinner

Source: santas.net

South African wine website, wine.co.za has launched a great initiative. The campaign  is calling on every South African living abroad to share a drop of sunshine with a local on 16 December.

We would love every South African out there to open up a bottle of South African wine,
and show your mates just how good our wine is – taste some sunshine, sunshine!

We have chosen the 16th December as it is a very special day for us South Africans, and it is right in the middle of the northern hemispheres winter…
just when they need a little bit of sunshine in their lives – so spread a little bit of our sunshine, sunshine!

Get a great bottle of South African wine and sit down quietly and taste it with your mates.
Let them taste some of our sunshine. And of course, you don’t have to stop there…you could even open up a second bottle and then not so quietly share some of our sunshine.

And for those ex-pats out there in the land of OZ, or down the south of America, they might not need the sunshine, but you have to agree…
they do need to taste some good wine for a change, so get them to taste what makes us shine.

Then, please take some pictures and videos, and show us all what you did by posting them on the social networks (#tastewinesunshine) and at wine.co.za

And please tell us at wine.co.za so that we can organise this again next year.

So sunshine, what great South African wine are you going to taste this year !

South Africans abroad can serve the king of South African wines, the multi award winning Kumkani wines.

The stars was really shining on the  king of South African Wines, Kumkani , as the brand achieved a whopping seven 4-star ratings for its wines  in the Platter’s South African Wine Guide 2012.

Leading the way is the immaculate Kumkani Lanner Hill Sauvignon Blanc which scored  4½ Stars.

The other outstanding wines which received a  4-star ratings include the

• Kumkani Cradle Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
• Kumkani Triple J Shiraz 2009
• Kumkani Reflections Range VVS 2009
• Kumkani Infiniti MCC 2007
• Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc 2010
• Kumkani Chardonnay-Viognier 2010

Well done to the winemaking team!

Eastern Cape wine lovers will be able to sample this year’s double gold and gold Veritas Award-winning wines, including the Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc 2010.
Guests will be treated to a sit-down tasting event that includes light refreshments at the Squires Legendary Grill in the Boardwalk centre in Beach Road. This event takes place on 15 November from 18h00 to 19h30 and costs R100 per person.

For more info on this event visit wine.co.za

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Wine lovers in the Durban area will be able to sample this year’s double gold and gold Veritas Award-winning wines ,including the Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc 2010.

The tasting event will be held in the Function Room, Deloittes Head Office in Umhlanga on 3 November

For more info on this event visit http://tiny.cc/gmmv9

Wine lovers in and around Johannesburg will be able to sample this year’s double gold and gold Veritas Award-winning wines ,including the Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc 2010.

The tasting and gourmet evening will be held at the Bill Gallagher Room of the Sandton Convention Centre on 26 October.

For more info on this event visit wine.co.za

Kumkani, the ‘king’ of South African wines, showed its royal pedigree this weekend after scooping up six medals at the 21st annual Veritas Awards ceremony, including a gold, two silvers and three bronze.

The Veritas Awards is South Africa’s biggest wine competition, and is widely regarded as its most highly esteemed indicator of quality, market-ready wines.

The Veritas Gold medal was awarded to Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc. Sourced from the coastal regions of Darling and Stellenbosch, the grapes were chosen for optimal quality to produce this fresh and well-balanced wine.

Bursting with crisp, fruit-driven flavours and characterised by aromas of ripe gooseberry and underlying notes of grass and green pepper, this refreshing wine is makes an exceptional food partner, especially for green salads, asparagus and shell fish.

The Veritas Silver medals were awarded to Kumkani Cradle Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 and the Kumkani Shiraz 2009. Bronze medals were awarded to the Kumkani Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, the Kumkani Pinotage 2009, and the Kumkani Inifiniti Brut 2007 – which was also ranked 4-stars in the 2011 Wine Magazine Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge.

Kumkani wines – which are renowned for delivering exceptional value and quality – are available from just R49 per bottle directly at the cellar door or at chosen wine outlets nationwide.

The uniquely South African wine brand Kumkani (derived from the Xhosa word for ‘king’ ) were awarded a gold medal at this year’s Veritas Awards.

The impressive Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc 2010 received a gold medal while five other Kumkani  wines were also in the medals.

Here is a summary of the Kumkani wine which received medals at this year Veritas Awards

GOLD

• Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc 2010

SILVER

• Kumkani Cradle Hill Cab 2005
• Kumkani Shiraz 2009

BRONZE

• Kumkani Infiniti Brut 2007
• Kumkani Shiraz/Cab 2009
• Kumkani Pinotage 2009

About the competition:

Out of the 1,739 entries, 42 double golds were awarded, 158 golds, 609 silvers and 619 bronze.

For more information you can visit www.veritas.co.za

Heritage Day is celebration of the diversity and uniqueness of South Africa and all our people and traditions.

The government has described Heritage Day as an opportunity to celebrate “aspects of South African culture which are both tangible and difficult to pin down: creative expression, our historical inheritance, language, the food we eat as well as the land in which we live”.

Braai is such big part of our traditions and culture and that’s why this coincides with the National Braai Day.

What would be the ultimate South African braai , which celebrates our uniqueness?

A braaied Ostrich Kebab (sosatie)  , with roosterbrood and koeksister for dessert will probably be as uniquely South African as you can get. This meal, served with the iconic and uniquely South African wine Kumkani will be the ultimate heritage braai meal.

The Kumkani Pinotage will complement the Ostrich Kebab and will also contribute to give this heritage braai an even more South African flavour.

Recipe: Ostrich Kebabs

Ingredients:

• 500 g Ostrich Fillet/Steak, cubed 300 g small brown mushrooms
• pieces of green and red peppers
• 150 ml coconut milk
• 50 ml beef stock
• 30 ml chopped fresh coriander
• 30 ml brown sugar
• 20 ml red curry paste (Thai)
• 50 ml fish sauce (Thai)
• 20 ml oil
• 5 ml lightly crushed coriander seeds
• Skewers

Method: Place the cubed ostrich meat, wiped mushrooms and chopped peppers in a marinade dish. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the meat. Marinate for 2 – 3 hours.

Now thread meat, mushrooms and peppers alternately onto skewers. Grill over glowing coals for ± 5 minutes – the meat should be medium rare.

Source: ostrichsa.co.za

September is Heritage Month in South Africa, and what better way to celebrate than with a traditional South African recipe that’s as tasty as it is easy to prepare?

“Potjiekos” (literally meaning pot food, pronounced “poy-kee-cos”) has been part of South Africa’s culture for many centuries. When the first Dutch settlers arrived in the Cape, they brought with them their ways of cooking food in heavy cast iron pots, which hung from the kitchen hearth above the fire. Long before the arrival of the early settlers in the Cape, the Bantu people who were migrating into South Africa learned the use of the cast iron cooking pot from Arab traders, and later from the Portuguese.

Whether you’re using a cast iron pot, or any other kind of pot, sample a taste of traditional South African cuisine with this quick and delicious lamb stew recipe:

Recommended wine: The uniquely Kumkani Merlot/Pinotage will complement this ‘heritage dish’. This wine has a multi-layered palate with undertones of spice and vanilla. Beautiful balance between primary fruit aromas and secondary oak matured flavours.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 750g lamb steaks (top round or shoulder), bones removed and meat cut into 5cm pieces
• salt and black pepper
• 4 carrots,
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 400g can diced tomatoes, drained
• 100g green beans, cut into small pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Season the lamb with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, turning occasionally, until medium-rare, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to a plate.
2. Add the carrots, onion, and the remaining oil to the pot. Cook until beginning to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and scrape up any brown bits.
3. Add the broth, tomatoes, and beans. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the lamb, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve immediately.

Source: realsimple

Soweto braces itself for the long anticipated annual Tops Soweto Wine Festival .

More than 70 wineries will be taking part in the Tops Soweto Wine Festival, together bringing more than 950 wines to the show.
Now in its seventh year, the festival is being held at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus on the evenings of 1-3 September.

Derived from the Xhosa word meaning ‘king’, Kumkani  is one of the brands that personifies the true African heritage. This iconic wine will again be showcased at this year’s festival.

Visitors are welcome to visit our stall and taste the award winning wines

For more info on the event visit sowetowinefestival.co.za

Women’s Day in South Africa commemorates the national march of women on ( August 1956 to petition against legislation that required African persons to carry the “pass”, special identification documents which curtailed an African’s freedom of movement during the apartheid era.

These women showed courage in their act of defiance against laws which degraded humanity. Other women also and also made a huge contribution to help build the Rainbow nation.

Iconic South African brand , Kumkani, salutes all women who makes a difference and who helped in creating our amazing country.

Happy Birthday to our beloved Madiba. Here is a great South African pudding recipe to celebrate his birthday.

A typical South African dessert the Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart is incredibly rich and decadent, but hugely popular all the same. It must also be one of the easiest pudding recipes on the planet – you can whip this pudding up in 10 minutes! Follow this easy recipe and create a dessert that’s always a winner – in no time at all.

Ingredients:

2 packets of Tennis biscuits
500ml cream
1 tin caramel
peppermint crisp chocolate

Method:

1. Beat the cream.
2. Mix in the caramel.
3. Layer the Tennis biscuits and the cream.
4. Sprinkle peppermint crisp on top.
5. Place in fridge to set.

Source: justeasyrecipes.co.za

Uniquely South African Bobotie

Bobotie is a uniquely South African meal and its origins can be traced back to the eastern influence on South African culture and cuisine. The Cape Malay society is famous for cooking this dish and it is usually served with yellow rice.

Ingredients

1 kg minced lamb
125ml milk
1 thick slice of white bread, crust removed and soaked in milk
2 roughly chopped onions butter
Salt
1 tablespoon of curry powder (mix the hot and the Cape Malay versions for a good flavour)
1 chili, finely chopped (optional and only if you like your food quite hot)
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of chutney
8 -10 crushed almonds (optional)
3 eggs
1 clove of garlic, crushed and finely chopped
6 bay leaves
1 orange, sliced in wheels
1 lemon, sliced in wheels
Oil for cooking

Instructions on how to make it

Heat the oil in frying pan and add the garlic, onion and curry power. Cook over medium heat for three minutes, then add the mince meat. Fry until the meat is almost done, then using your hands, squeeze the milk from the bread. Discard the milk and add the bread, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and chutney to the mince. Fry for a minute or so and then remove from heat.
Take a pie dish and place three bay leaves, two wheels of orange and two wheels of lemon at the bottom. Now scoop the mince mixture into the dish. Decorate the sides of the dish with the rest of the lemon and orange wheels, wedging them between the mince and the sides of the dish so that only a third protrudes. If you are using almonds, push them into the mince. Beat the eggs and 125ml milk, and pour over the meat. Put three bay leaves on top of dish. Place the dish uncovered in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes at 160 deg Celsius.

Serve with a plain green salad or chopped tomato and onion, sprinkled with a little vinegar. Make sure you have

some chutney near at hand. Serve piping hot with the yellow rice.

Recommended wine. The uniquely South African Kumkani Pinotage will pair well with this truly South African dish.

Source: rainbownation.com

When entertaining friends and family sometimes it’s best to go back to the basics. Nothing beats this good old-fashioned roast beef recipe, which is guaranteed to have guests asking for seconds!

Ingredients:

4 small onions, quartered

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 1.8 kg boneless rib or roast

Method:

Heat oven to 190° C. In a roasting pan, toss the onions, oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Push the onions to the edges of the pan. Season the beef with 1 teaspoon each and pepper and place in the center of the pan.

Roast the beef to the desired doneness, 65-80 minutes for medium-rare (remove from oven when the internal temperature registers 50° C).

Transfer the beef to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for at least 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the onions.

Recommended Wine: This dish goes well with big wines like the multi award winning  Kumkani Cradle Hill Cabernet Sauvignon.

Source: Real Simple Magazine

A few of our wines received medals at this year’s Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show.

The Welmoed Heyden’s Courage 2009 (white)  and the Kumkani Cradle Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 received  silver medals.

The Arniston Bay Bushvine Pinotage and Chenin Blanc both scored a bronze. Congratulations to the winemaking team.

Here is the full list of winners-  winemag.co.za

We’re having another Market Day wine sale at our Welmoed cellar door in Stellenbosch.

Dates: 2 June -5 June 2011

Venue: Welmoed Cellar door. Directions to Welmoed

The following wines will be on sale:

If you’d like more details regarding the sale, please contact the Zoliswa at our cellar door on 021 881 8062